Care for the Cause Fashion Show for Chhoti Si Asha

 

Care for the Cause organized a fashion show with proceeds supporting impoverished women and children in India.

Care for the Cause, a volunteer organization that strives to alleviate human suffering by raising awareness on social issues, held a fashion show to benefit the Indian nonprofit Chhoti Si Asha (whom rHope also supports). The event took place at AnQi in Costa Mesa.

Models worked the runway! DJ Amit Kotecha rocked the show. We enjoyed beautiful Indian fashion from Prathaa and Khushy Designs. A portion of proceeds benefit Chhoti Si Asha. Check out the photos taken by Mad Guru below.

Event planner, Ajita Chopra brought all of this together with her passionate and energetic volunteers. The entire Care for the Cause team were wonderful and we loved meeting folks like Punita, who in addition to being a Founder of Care for the Cause, works as a nurse and uses her skills to benefit people around the world.

The event benefited Chhoti Si Asha, a volunteer driven nonprofit which builds sustainable livelihoods for underprivileged women & youth in Chandigarh, India. Chhoti Si Asha runs two main programs, The Janta Colony Library, an educational program and library and the Stitch-a-Living livelihood program for women.

rHope, based in the US, empowers artisan groups including Chhoti Si Asha by retooling products and giving women opportunities to participate in trade. rHope sold handmade wallets and clutches made by the women of Chhoti Si Asha at the event with proceeds going to continued support of their Stitch a Living program.

Kristeen Singh (Founder of rHope) and Krishna Dahya (Indicorps Fellow) presented on Chhoti Si Asha. They shared the story of Manju one of the women in the program. She lives in a slum, is uneducated, but able to stitch very well. Working allows her to support her 3 sons and provide them with a chance at a better future. They also spoke about 3rd grader Shubham, who is supported by the library project created by Divya Sooryakumar (Indicore Fellow) of Chhoti si Asha. When Divya met him, he did not know his ABCs or how to count. Thanks to the Library and Educational Center, Shubham learned to counting, addition, subtraction as well as both the the Hindi and English alphabet.

Lastly, a message from Liza Chawla founder of Chhoti Si Asha “Thanks for putting in so much trust in Chhoti Si Asha. The love and trust from people and organizations like Care for the Cause is what keeps us motivated and inspires us to do more. A bow and hugs to the entire team who contributed in putting this show together. Thank you from our entire team.”

rHope at Veteran Feminists of America Conference

rHope attended the Veteran Feminists of America’s Women and Media Conference thanks to Zoe Nicholson. It was a celebration of second wave feminists who dealt with issues related to sexuality, family, the workplace, reproductive rights  and inequality.  Every woman had an incredible story to share. The event focused on Women & Media, with panels such as “Women’s Voices on the Radio” with radio journalists Sonali Kolhatkar, Frieda Werden Maya Jupiter, and Marlene Montanez moderated by Lynn H. Ballen. Research and statistics on the state of women in media were shared. As a result of a severe lack of representation for stories of non stereotypical women in movies or women’s perspectives, media perpetuates gender inequality. Check out this short film by Feminist Frequency on the subject. Additionally, we were treated to an inspiring screening of Jennifer Lee’s “Feminist Stories from Women’s Liberation,” a documentary about the women’s liberation movement in the United States from 1963 to 1970. With each panel and story, we thought about the women that rHope supports with our partner Chhoti Si Asha. These women were born to poverty by no fault of their own. We are glad to stand with them and sell their handmade products. When women are economically and socially empowered, they become a potent force for change. Men and boys are taking a more active role in housework as the women are earning a much needed income, and finding a stronger voice. These women are confident, talented and creative. They are rising up against the norms of what is expected of them and are changing the future for the better just as the wonderful Veteran Feminists of America and others have done in the past and continue to do today.  We are indebted to the struggles of women the world over for basic rights and are honored to play our part in it. Thank you for your support! [nggallery id=9]